Adap.tv has been, in my personalized video ad network rankings system, in third place for some time. However, that ranking really just looks at reach and frequency based on comScore monthly Video Metrix numbers. It doesn't take into account other things. If it ever comes to a tiebreaker, I know exactly what will decide the tie and it's the new Adap.tv App Center offering, which I suspect will see exponential growth in terms of partnerships because, frankly, it's awesome.

Whetting your APPetite

Now this isn't the type of App Center where you download and install stuff to your phones, browsers or other devices. No, no, this is an App Center where you can suddenly have, what I believe will become, the most robust and efficient way to create, place, track and optimize online video advertising, ever. Or at the very least, it will become the template for all others because, in its simplicity, it is brilliant.

Some advertising networks are trying to be the single, sole provider of every facet of online video advertising and while that might work for them, it doesn't seem as efficient to me as what Adap.tv has got on its plate.

Essentially, the App Center is really Adap.tv working smarter not harder. It's a share-the-wealth initiative that leverages the knowledge and specialization capabilities of each of the partners because the partners are doing all the heavy lifting in the innovation of each of their own products leaving Adap.tv to focus on its core business of online video advertising reach and distribution. The partners can benefit as well from constant Adap.tv growth and innovation and it's a very symbiotic relationship.

It's really a win-win-win situation in my mind. Advertisers can get a slew of industry-leading services all from the Adap.tv App Center to create, expand, place, track, optimize their online video ad campaigns. Yes, there will be a cost, but it should be offset by the more efficient workflow and expanded campaign success. The partners all benefit because they are integrated to an online video ad network that showed, according to comScore, 880 million video ads in April and is consistently in my personal top three choices of where to place your video ads online. Finally, Adap.tv benefits because they become the center of the app-based online video advertising network universe. To paraphrase an 80's cartoon They have the apPOWER!!!

APPsolute Power

Yeah, I can make appy puns all day, hey you saw the Star Trek post right?

So about now you're like, "what the hell is Chris on about now? What's this App Center?" Fine, enough screwing around and time to slice it open and peek inside.

The Adap.tv App Center fully integrates A-to-Z services and solutions for online video ad buying placements across multiple platforms and formats. It basically allows you to drop in functionality from a wide range of sources like rich ad formats by Innovid, audience targeting, audience measurement and validation and more. The future could even hold things like video content analysis from someone like Affine, who I know has some pretty cool stuff as I talked with them earlier today as well.

It's pretty much an endless possibility scenario for expansion of what you can receive as a media/ad buyer using the Adap.tv online video ad network and App Center.

Main features include:

Makes managing hundreds of processes as easy as managing one

Gives advertisers the ability to search, discover and implement any 3rd party solution from data providers to rich media to measurement

Opens the Adap.tv console API to third parties, promising creative solutions from across the industry

What kind of apps and additions can you get to the standard video ad network offering from Adap.tv? How about:

Audience Measurement

Brand Measurement

Ad Formats

Audience Targeting Data

Contextual Targeting Data

Ad Verification

Ad Compliance

They're not all in place yet, but this is the list I was given of what can be included at present, it's just a matter of filling those categories with service providers.

Teg Grenager Founder and Vice President, Product at Adap.tv (pictured to the right) took me for a spin to show off what it can offer already, and it's pretty impressive. I watched as he built a more interactive video ad through Innovid's app and targeted it more precisely thanks to eXelate and it was amazingly quick and easy.

Everything can be semi-automated, so when you add an app or service and then are ready to place an ad you get the full price including all the add-on services for the campaign. Plus, it's all integrated right in the ad buyer dashboard so it's ultra-easy to get working on it. Adap.tv even does all the invoicing, billing and such so you really just have to pay them.

Current, charter, partners include BlueKai, Exelate, Innovid, audience data targeting providers Datalogix, AdAdvisor by TargusInfo and more. They have more in the works but couldn't confirm though my name dropping did have some results, I just can't tell you the names I was dropping, hey, it's life as a journalist. You'll just have to be patient.

How to Get APP and Running

Service Providers

OK, that last pun was a stretch there, but it works. If you're interested in being a partner, drop Adap.tv an email and they can chat with you and hook you up with their SDK/API and you can get to work creating your service app for the App Center and tapping into that massive reach of Adap.tv, 22.5% of the US population according to comScore Video Metrix and monetizing it all through the app since you can charge the users to tap, tap, tapp into your services.

What I like about it, even more now that I think about it, is that it could come with app-sized pricing as well. Say you want some specific demographic or audience information, you could easily incorporate that piece of information and it could cost a fraction of subscribing to a total data package of that information. The data supplier gets their share, you get a better targeted campaign and Adap.tv fills some inventory for publishers and all around it's Appy Appy Joy Joy!

Advertisers and Media Buyers

If you're not using Adap.tv for anything, you might really want to set aside some time to get in there and take a look around. I really think that the Adap.tv App Center might be a game changer and could really streamline the way you're doing your daily job. Plus, if you're a traditional TV advertiser or a representative for one, you might be blown away at the amount of information you can get for your campaigns versus what you get from your TV campaigns. Plus, there's that whole, online video advertising can be far more interactive and engaging because of all the extras that you can add. Plus plus, you could even track users from first engagement with an ad/brand/product all the way through to a retail sale...provided that all the data providers are partnered up and the consumers are welcoming of that. If you can't do it now, it probably won't be long before you can, all through the Adap.tv ad buyer dashboard.

Pre-made AppPartnerships

There's even a mechanism built in where where the app creator who has standing deals and arrangements with advertisers already, can offer them that same rate through the app just by having them login with their account credentials. But those who don't have a tie to the services can still pay an ad hoc price sort of like a la carte at the local cafeteria. The great thing is that if it works for you and you're spending enough, you might be able to eventually negotiate a better deal and you'll already know exactly what you're getting for the money!

Whew! That's a massive article all of a sudden. There was so much to talk about and I really do think it could be the way things work in the future, or at least the blueprint for the future of online video advertising. You're taking the best of all of the online video industry leaders and combining it into one interface, requiring less work on the part of the advertiser or media buyer which means more efficient buying and placement and it just seems like an almost perfect storm of power. I suspect that they'll even have access to all those TV-like GRP and iGRP metrics sometime soon because it just makes sense to get it all in there one way or another.

Will it really work? I guess I'll have to keep a close eye on the numbers and let you know next month, or the month after. I don't know that there will be a massive spike right away, but I can see the whole deal really being beneficial to a whole lot of brands, advertisers and agencies.

About the Author - Christophor Rick

Christophor Rick is a freelance writer specializing in technology, new media, video games, IPTV, online video advertising and consumer electronics. His past work has included press releases, copy-writing, travel writing and journalism. He also writes novel-length and short fiction as part of Three-Faced Media . View All Posts By - Christophor Rick